Apostate
by Hezaia
Summary: In which the Fourteenth's Plan B yields unexpected (but also kind of interesting) results.
1. Chapter 1

_What if… the Fourteenth got his own body (and it was a bit smaller than expected) and things kind of spiralled from there?  
_

 **-o0o-**

"Well, fuckity-great. Fan-fucking-tastic."

This wasn't the plan. Even so, Neah could only stare at his hands in disbelief. "Cross, this wasn't the plan."

Seated across a chair next to the bed, a considerably older but no less recognisable Cross Marian huffed lightly, cigarette in-between his teeth.

"I'm like tiny!" Neah snapped. "There's no way I'll be able to defeat them like this!"

Cross said nothing, bringing a hand up to his mouth to remove the cigarette. It stayed there for a while though, and Neah had a sneaking suspicion that the man might be hiding a smile behind it. But such matters could be addressed later, because Neah had far bigger fish to fry. "Where's Allen?"

Cross exhaled and Neah wrinkled his nose, restraining a surfacing urge to stuff the cigarette down the man's throat. "Why do you need him?" Cross asked, as if it wasn't perfectly damn obvious that Neah needed to ask the guy when and how he had managed to fuck up Neah's Plan B.

"You know why."

It took a while, but Cross finally relented, turning his head slightly. Then, he called out towards the doorway. "Hey, brat!"

At first, nothing happened. Then, Neah became aware of footsteps; small ones, if his ears were not completely mistaken. After a while, the door creaked open and someone, a small someone, peeked out from behind the doorframe.

"Get in here!" Cross snapped, and the child obeyed, scowling all the way. "And shut the door behind you."

The child had red hair, streaked with white. Although it was on the longer side and looked as if it had been brushed fairly recently, it appeared a bit dishevelled, as if recently ruffled. There was also a somewhat unnatural pallor to the skin, making it nearly blend in with the bandages covering the left part of his face. However, what really caught Neah's attention was the single eye darting about, first to Cross, then briefly to Neah and then back to Cross.

"How old are you?" Cross demanded, harshly as ever.

The child hardly seemed fazed though, practically rolling an eye at the display before raising his hands slightly to display ten fingers and−

Neah felt as though he was going to be sick. "Isn't that−? _How_?"

"Don't ask me," Cross scoffed before turning his attention back to the child. "Hey, brat! What's your name?"

Again, the child scowled. Then, instead of speaking, he used his right hand to spell out letters in the air.

A-L-L-E-N

"Since when?" Cross persisted, and the child ( _Allen?_ ) looked down and then turned his face away. Then, just as abruptly, the child looked towards Neah, frowned, and then back towards Cross, spelling out W-H-O before pointing to Neah. Rude much?

"You're not getting an answer before _you_ answer _my_ question, Allen," Cross retorted. "You don't get to leave either."

The child shot another look towards Neah and then turned his attention back towards Cross, stubbornly silent. Neah was starting to wonder if he could even speak when finally− "Since Mana, and I killed him, and I can kill you too."

The voice was thick and hoarse from disuse, but it was the words, the words that caught him off guard−

"As if you'd succeed," Cross scoffed, averting his eyes from a gaze that looked ready to try it.

Neah just stared, because− _What. The. Ever-Loving. Fuck?_

 **-o0o-**

This had not been the plan, but Neah was nothing if not adaptable. He didn't particularly like relying on Cross, but with so few alternatives at hand, what choice did he really have? Because Neah was at a clear disadvantage; his information network was more than twenty years out of date, his old body was gone, and his new body was tiny. And, to make matters worse, it did not seem to be growing any older, which left him perpetually stuck in the body of a ten-year-old.

The only silver lining was that he didn't have to share it, because sharing a room with 'Allen' was bad enough; sharing a body would have been an outright nightmare. That said however− "Where's the Annoyance?"

Cross barely even deigned him a look. "Do you need him for something?"

There was no sign of 'Allen'. Timcanpy was also gone. Neah had a bad feeling about this. "Cross, what have you done?"

The man just scoffed, putting out his cigarette in the process. "I sent the brat to infiltrate the Order."

"Hoh?" Neah said, restraining a sudden urge to shed blood. "Without consulting me?"

No answer.

Well, screw him then.

"Don't go after him," Cross said just as Neah reached the door. "Even with a new name and looking like that, you might be discovered."

Neah clenched his hands into fists. Because− "You sent 'Allen Walker' to the Order. Allen! Fucking! Walker! You didn't even give him a proper alias! Or a solid cover story!"

"I sent a letter of introduction."

"A letter of introduction?!" Neah snarled, because− "If you were gonna have him infiltrate the Order, couldn't you at least have been subtle about it?! _Allen Walker, Cross Marian's apprentice?!_ "

It was the same as painting a huge target on his back before shoving him out into the open, and while Neah found that 'Allen' could be incredibly annoying at times, he had a vested interest in keeping the brat alive. First of all, he felt as though he owed his old friend and second of all− "He's not yours to claim; he's mine."

'Allen' might not be Neah's host anymore, but that changed nothing. 'Allen' was his; his and Mana's. It didn't matter that 'Allen' was now much taller; he was still a brat, no matter how tall he got.

"I'm going after him." Neah smiled, turning his head around to look back at Cross. "As for you, you can do whatever. I'm sure you can find a way to sneak into the Ark even without my help."

There was another scoff at that. "Don't get yourself killed," the man muttered at last, lighting a new cigarette. "I'm not cleaning up your mess again."

Neah scoffed inwardly at that. Outwardly however, he just kept smiling. "Screw you too, old man!"

There was no real need for sentimentality; they had never been on friendly terms with one another to begin with. Besides, no matter what happened, they would probably meet again, if not sooner then later for sure. Because, while Neah might have had his reservations about Cross, he knew well that Cross could take care of himself. Now 'Allen' on the other hand−

 **-o0o-**

"Hey!"

He'd made it. Sure, he'd had to run all the way to the station, but he'd made it just in time.

"…What are you doing here?"

"You forgot something."

Allen just blinked. "Forgot what?"

Neah, still trying to catch his breath, pointed to himself. "Your common sense."

Allen looked surprised at first. Then he sniggered. "I thought Tim was my common sense," he said, giving the golem riding on top of his head an affectionate pet. "And my sense of direction, I guess."

"That's fair," Neah agreed, still− "I could be your moral compass…"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Allen grinned, extending a hand. "Your morals are even more skewed than mine."

Technically true. Still, Neah could have just stabbed him for that. He didn't though. Instead, he just took the hand and smiled, allowing Allen to help him aboard the train.

It was crowded though and the train was filling up with even more people for every minute, and Neah was both annoyed and grateful that Allen insisted on having him ride on top of his shoulders. Because getting squished and possibly trampled upon was unpleasant, no matter how old you were on the inside. It was still hot though, seriously.

"I could use some fresh air," Allen said at last. "How about you?"

Well, it was hot and stuffy inside the train and it would no doubt be hot outside as well, especially under the unforgiving rays of the sun. There would be more oxygen though; less people too, probably. "Definitely."

 **-o0o-**

Eventually, hours, even days after setting off, they reached a larger port city, and short while later, they find themselves onboard the large vessel Allen had set his heart on.

"I really don't get it though," Neah could not help but comment once they had relocated to the cabin that would apparently be theirs for the journey. "With your poker skills, we could've easily earned enough money to pay for tickets. Why did you deliberately go out of your way to−?"

"Because this way was faster," Allen answered easily, rummaging through his suitcase. "Besides, it was fun."

Neah could see the entertainment value. He could not see any particular benefits farther along the line though. "And what the heck are we gonna do when that guy starts asking for some favours in return, huh?"

Allen made a slight grimace at that. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll handle it. Besides, it's only until we reach the Mediterranean…"

Yeah, and that was not at all what Neah wanted to hear. "He's a creep," Neah hissed. "I've seen the way he looks at you."

Neah had also seen the way the man looked at him. The man was a predator; that much was for sure.

"As I said, I'll handle it," Allen reaffirmed, running a hand through his hair. "But," he continued, lowering his voice slightly. "Be careful, alright? And if he tries anything, try not to stab him. Use blunt force. It'll be way easier to explain in case someone manages to find the body after we dump it overboard…"

Neah felt somewhat better after that. Still− "I think your moral compass is broken."

"My moral compass malfunctions in the presence of creeps," Allen deadpanned without missing a beat. "It must be because I'm still an impressionable child and all."

Ten-year-old 'Allen' might've been an impressionable child, once he got past the traumatised and somewhat feral state he had been in back when Neah had first regained consciousness after the split. (How said split had occurred in the first place was a bit of a mystery, but Neah was not about to look that gift horse in the mouth.)

Anyways, 'Allen' might have been an impressionable child at one point, but now, at age fifteen, the boy's personality had probably settled for good. And, given how much time they had spent around Cross Marian, it was inevitable that Allen had picked up a few of the man's habits along the way. Of course, Neah also saw bits and pieces of his old friend in there, but− Mana had definitely left a lasting impression; that much was undeniable.

Besides that, Neah was surprised to see just how parental Cross had managed to become over time. Granted, even then, Cross retained his outrageousness, and even though the man was probably doing his best to pretend not to care about them, Neah would have to have been blind not to notice. The man obviously loved 'Allen'. Now, Neah on the other hand…

Well, Neah wasn't in this game to make friends, and he had no real need for any father figures, especially not shitty ones.

Then again, Neah hadn't exactly planned on developing this kind of thing with 'Allen' either, but…

"Got any tens?"

"Nope. Got any queens?"

Neah grudgingly handed over his queens.

Odd as it might sound, it was probably better this way. Because, while Neah might never have been one for sentimentality, it would kind of have sucked having to kill his best friend, promises or no promises. Of course, the current situation was far from ideal, but…

"Got any kings?"

Allen dutifully handed over his kings.

"Got any plans for what we're gonna do when we get to Europe?"

Allen looked up. For a long moment, they just sat there, watching each other in silence. Then finally, Allen put his cards down and rubbed his finger underneath his nose; he did that a lot when embarrassed. "Well," Allen said at last. "I _was_ planning on heading to the Black Order HQ in England and infiltrate the Order or whatever, but it's not like I can do that now that you're here. Because the Order's got a pretty strict policies and all that…"

Well, those strict policies would have applied whether Neah had come along or not, so− "What's your point?"

"My point?" Allen gave a slight shrug at that. "I mean sure, I want to continue saving souls and all that, but if I joined, then I wouldn't be allowed to leave, and only generals are allowed to roam as they please. Besides, contact with family would be strictly forbidden, so…"

Family? "You're an orphan."

Allen just smiled. "Maybe so, but I have you."

Fair enough. Still− "Don't you have a problem with the whole 'blood relatives of Accommodators may be seized for study' thing? Because that's pretty fucked up, if you ask me."

"It is fucked up," Allen agreed. "But that shit's also been revoked, so…"

Hoh. "I guess even those people can do something halfway decent every once in a while," Neah commented. "Still, I'd imagine those people at Central would conveniently forget all about that if they actually caught wind of me…"

It would suffice to say that Neah did not have a whole lot of faith in the lot. But in any case− "What are you gonna do about that letter of introduction then?"

"Nothing much," Allen answered simply, shrugging. "Tim's a dead giveaway that we're connected to Cross, but who said we had to stick around long enough to get caught? Besides, even if we do get caught at some point, I'll figure something out."

Neah did not take too kindly to the hair ruffle that accompanied the promise. He still endured it though. "I don't think 'I got lost' will cut it this time around," he muttered.

Allen just laughed. "Well," he said, withdrawing his hand at last. "There's always the 'we were on a top-secret mission and Cross expressly forbade us from interacting with any Black Order personnel before we'd finished it'?"

Neah felt his eye give an involuntary twitch. "The letter of introduction?"

Allen offered up a dismissive wave in response. "We'll just say that he changed his mind midway through and didn't bother informing them. They'd totally buy it."

Well, as a race, humans were pretty stupid and all, but− "I don't like this plan."

Well, truth to be told, Neah hated this plan _and_ humanity as a whole, but… "But until I can think of anything better, let's just roll with it. It's not like most plans survive contact with reality anyway."

…But Neah was still on the fence when it came to Allen.

 **-o0o-**


	2. Chapter 2

_**It's a bit short, but…**_ **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0o-**

" _Is he dead?"_

" _No."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because."_

" _Can I kill him?"_

" _No."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because."_

" _Why?"_

" _We'll reach port in less than a day. It's too risky to dump a body overboard at this point."_

" _Like you've ever dumped a body before."_

" _As far as you know."_

"… _Bet you've never killed somebody before."_

" _Maybe not with my bare hands."_

" _Destroying Akuma doesn't count, you know?"_

" _Who said I was talking about Akuma?"_

"… _Why can't we kill him? There's a pillow right there. Smother him."_

"… _You're overreacting."_

" _You're underreacting."_

" _Look, he's drunk and fell asleep before he could really do anything."_

" _That. Is not. The point."_

" _What is the point?"_

"… _He's scum and he won't quit. He's probably got a whole dungeon full of−"_

" _Neah."_

" _If you don't wanna do it, I'll do it."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because he deserves it, and because I want to."_

"… _I'll do it. Go outside and keep watch."_

" _But−"_

" _I promised I'd handle it. Now go."_

 **-o0o-**

Neah was still on the fence when it came to Allen.

On one hand, he found the boy incredibly stupid and annoying at times; perhaps not quite on par with the rest of humanity, but close enough.

On the other hand, he found the boy's continued presence strangely comforting, despite the fact that the boy knew little, if anything, about his and Neah's connection or about anything, really.

These days, he mostly thought of his old friend 'Allen' and the current 'Allen' as different people; it was easier that way, because while Neah remembered 'Allen', 'Allen' didn't remember him.

It was easier to accept that the other 'Allen' had probably died as a part of whatever fuckup had brought this situation about. And Neah was still not planning to look into that any further than he already had or talk to Allen about it; it was irrelevant at this point, because Neah had a body – a small one, sure, but a body nonetheless – and Allen was still−

"It's a damned shame though. If I joined the Order, then we'd never have to worry about money for train tickets or shelter or even meals again! We could've just billed the Order!"

Actually, never mind. Ugh.

This Allen had always had a thing about money; making it, counting it, hoarding it. Blaming Cross' reckless spending habits lay close at hand, but Neah had a sneaking suspicion that Allen's past – both before and after he had started travelling with Mana – had definitely played its part. Neah's main reason for thinking so was that the Mana he remembered had little, if any, idea about how to manage money properly.

Now, Allen's past was a topic that was rarely ever discussed. It had taken months, even years, for Neah to piece together even an approximate timeline.

First of all, Allen allegedly had no memory of his birth parents, and figured that he was abandoned due to his freakish – and for many years also useless – left arm. It was all awfully convenient, Neah mused, and by that, he meant that it was highly suspicious. Of course, trauma could do interesting things to a person's memory, but having no recollections whatsoever – not even flashbacks or nightmares – even after all these years? – That was suspicious. Someone – likely someone with Innocence – had obviously meddled, or at the very least tried to meddle, and odd as it might sound, Neah might just owe his current existence to them. Technically speaking. And if indeed so, then Neah fully intended to repay them by strangling them by with his own two hands.

He looked down at his hands; like Allen, he wore gloves in public.

" _We kind of match, you know?"_

They didn't, not really, but Neah had been far too stunned by the sheer audacity to even pull his hand away. Having his fingers interlinked with Innocence was freaky at best, horrifying at worst; the burn against his bare skin had been undeniable.

Shortly after that, it had been decided that Allen would accompany Cross on his travels, to learn to control his Innocence or whatever. And of course, Neah had tagged along, because it was not as though he wanted to sit there and rot. Returning to the Campbell household had been tempting, but then as well as now, Neah was not ready. Besides, the fewer people who knew about his return the better, because more people meant a far greater risk of information leaking either to the Order or to the Noah, and right now, Neah was nowhere near strong enough to take on either of them.

Or, to be exact, it was _not_ a matter of strength; the size of the vessel had nothing to do with its power level, and Neah was not weak, even if his childish form might have suggested otherwise.

If anything, then the real reason for−

"Akuma at two o'clock, ten metres. Keep your head down."

Neah didn't really take orders from anyone. Helpful advice however? Occasionally.

"Are we gonna chase it?" Neah asked, keeping his voice low and his hood up.

" _I'm_ gonna," Allen responded, depositing the suitcase at his feet and the train tickets into his hands. "But not until you get your arse on the train, okay?"

Again, Neah didn't really take orders from anyone. However, recognising the futility in arguing with a stubborn jackass, Neah still picked up the suitcase (which was fucking heavy), ducked his head down and made his way towards the train, weaving through the crowd to the best of his ability.

Some people had the decency to move, but a whole lot of them didn't. Heck, one even came dangerously close to bowling him over, and Neah only barely managed to avoid that by veering to the side, crashing right into someone's upper thigh.

"Look out where you're going, boy," a male voice advised him, Neah looked up and promptly froze.

Because… _What. The. Ever-Loving. Fuck?_

Neah looked again. The face was the same. What the Hell?

"Uh, boy? Are you okay? You didn't hit your head or anything?"

 **-o0o-**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Poor Neah…**_ **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯** _ **(Also poor me. My back hurts…)**_

 **-o0o-**

"You threw up."

Yeah.

"On his shoes."

That happened. "…His face was nauseating."

"Why?" Allen asked; he was wearing _that smile_ again. "I thought he was quite the looker underneath all that−"

Neah narrowed his eyes. _**"No."**_

"No…what?" Allen asked, sounding perfectly innocent if one disregarded the slight tinge of mischievousness.

In any case− "Don't even _think_ about it."

Because after all these years, Neah was painfully aware of Allen's many character flaws; his bouts of recklessness in particular.

"Think about what?"

His penchant for feigning obliviousness was another.

Neah gritted his teeth, because that said, Allen was technically speaking oblivious to a whole lot of things. Sure, he obviously knew some stuff about the Millennium Earl, about the akuma and all that, including the fact that the Earl had other helpers; that there were human collaborators and finally− "Don't play dumb. This is serious."

Allen dutifully adopted a more sombre expression. "Okay," he said. "How serious?"

How serious indeed?

Neah considered the situation and also how he might explain it to Allen without telling him too much info that should definitely not end up in enemy hands. Then again, now that Allen wasn't planning on joining the Order− "You know I lived before, right?"

Allen nodded. Of course, given the number of times Allen had no doubt overheard Neah cussing out Cross and dropping offhanded comments about the guy's past failures, it was not really surprising. No, he had probably kind of figured, because Neah wasn't normal; he was older than he looked and didn't seem to age much at all, as a matter of fact. Besides, Allen had allegedly had a quite fruitful conversation with Narain on the matter of reincarnation at some point, so… "You recognised him? That's all?"

Really. "He's got my face, Allen, my old face!" Neah hissed. "Excuse me for not being adequately prepared for that!"

"Still, that's all?" Allen sounded a bit incredulous. "You know, they say that everyone has at least one doppelganger running around, right? Besides, it's a bit farfetched and all, but if you didn't have children, it could be nephew or a distant relative or−"

 _Relative_. Haha. Ha. Ha. _Ha._ "Look," Neah said at last. "The less you know, the better, but let me just get this clear: That guy is _dangerous as fuck_. Do _not_ engage. Understood?"

Allen tilted his head slightly to the side.

 **-o0o-**

'Dangerous as fuck,' Neah had said.

'Do not engage,' Neah had said.

And what had Allen done?

"Right, I got it," he had said, patting Neah lightly on the knee. "I won't do anything too reckless. Trust me."

 **-o0o-**

In hindsight, Neah really shouldn't have trusted him.

"Hi, are you the one?"

"Uh… the one your little brother threw up on? Sure."

"…Yeah, sorry about that. My brother had a traumatic experience with a pervert a while back. Don't take it personally or anything."

' _Don't take it personally, my arse!'_

"No foul no harm. Well, not much at any rate."

' _Stop leering at me. I'll bloody kill you.'_

"Oh, are you guys playing poker? I started learning that a while back."

"Hoh…"

 **-o0o-**

Tyki Mikk looked the elder boy up and down, taking in his appearance; even with the wear and tear of recent travels, the clothes were of decent enough quality, and so was the suitcase the pair was lugging around. He also glanced towards the younger of the pair, confirming that yes, the boy was glaring, and the dark look on his face was a stark contrast to the elder boy's bright yet apologetic expression.

A pervert, huh? Well, no wonder. Besides, Tyki had had the presence of mind to use his ability to avoid most of the vomit, so no foul no harm. And if they could con the elder brother out of most of the pair's travelling funds, then all the better really.

Well, such had been the plan anyway.

"Call! Royal Straight Flush!"

As it turned out, they were the ones who got stripped of their funds and even down to their underwear, whereas the elder had not only kept all his clothes but also the seemingly friendly but mischievous smile on his face. "Got to say you've got guts, boy," Tyki said, reluctantly impressed despite the situation at hand.

"Got to say you actually look better with clothes on," the boy said without missing a beat, and while both shocked and mildly horrified by the words, Tyki definitely noticed how the boy's younger brother's face grew pale and then turned slightly green again.

"Uh…"

The elder seemed to notice the look and turned, uttering a soft curse as he got up and – with a swift hand – grabbed his brother with one hand and pushed a window open with the other. It was incredibly well-timed too, because literal moments thereafter, the younger was retching, but thankfully outside the rail car rather than inside it.

"Honestly," the elder said once the younger had apparently finished and pulled his head back inside. "Did you get food poisoning or something? I haven't seen you like this since that time in Agra…"

The younger simply gritted his teeth and accepted the bottle the elder had somehow managed to fish out in the midst of everything.

Now seemed like a good time for Tyki and his gang to reclaim their belongings, seeing that the elder boy didn't seem to care all that much about the result of the game anymore. And Tyki did reclaim his trousers and shirt and shoes, but after that…

"Hey, need a hand or something?"

Cue a genuinely surprised look from the elder boy, who at this point had taken a seat. The younger laid on his side now, curled up and with his head resting upon his sibling's lap, his reddish hair smoothed down by careful hand movements that only stilled once Tyki posed the question. "Uh, yeah. Think you could move our stuff a bit closer? I mean, I'd do it myself but…" the boy trailed off, giving a slightly helpless shrug.

"Sure," Tyki said. "No problem."

And it wasn't, not really. And while this hadn't been the original plan, but it would suffice to say that Tyki's curiosity had been piqued. And maybe he did have a bit of a soft spot for children; that'd explain a thing or two.

 **-o0o-**

"So… I believe we skipped out on the whole introduction bit. I'm Tyki, Tyki Mikk, and this is Eeez, Momo, and Crack."

"Allen."

"And the little guy?"

There was a brief pause, followed by an unnervingly bright smile. "He can introduce himself later."

Now that was an interesting way of dodging a question. "Well, sure. Are you two travelling alone?"

The elder, Allen, shook his head, smile diminishing to something a bit more natural. "Nope. There's Tim. He's looking after us."

Tyki frowned inwardly at that, because he had yet to see any adult looking as though they fit the part. Nevertheless− "Hoh. Where're you headed then?"

"Places."

Yeah, evidently. "Same here, same here. Any places in particular?"

Cue a somewhat thoughtful hum. "Places with comfortable lodgings for agreeable prices, and lacking that, places willing to offer a roof over our heads."

Hoh. Somewhat unexpected, considering the quality of the clothes. Then again, with a face and skills like that, there were obviously other−

"Hoh, you don't look all that used to roughing it out though…"

There was another shrug at that. "Appearances can be deceiving." − _No shit_. − "As long as I have food to eat and a place to sleep, I'll live. Sure, I'm not too fond of bugs, but in a pinch, they're also food. As long as they're not poisonous of course."

Whoa. "You must've had a pretty screwed up childhood." Not that Tyki himself should be passing any judgements or−

"I got thrown into a lion cage at one point," the boy said, casually, as though he was commenting on the weather. "I also got sent off to capture a wild lion at one point."

Uh… "Sounds… rough?"

"It _was_ pretty awful, but there _are_ worse things," the boy said, and going by the tone, the boy had experienced a few of them for himself; the scar partially hidden beneath the white fringe looked like it'd probably hurt at some point. "But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that."

"Yeah…" Sure, what didn't kill you _did_ make you stronger, but it could also wear you down until something else came along to finish you off. "I guess…"

 **-o0o-**

"Gone?" Neah finally whispered, after what had seemed like a goddamned eternity.

"Gone," Allen affirmed, giving Neah's head an affectionate pet. "You're pretty damned good at this by the way. I don't think anyone noticed that you weren't sleeping."

Neah finally took the opportunity to swat the hand away. "Which part of _'Do not engage'_ eludes you?" he hissed, getting up at last. His limbs were stiff and achy, and his neck was much the same. "Also, who the Hell starts telling his life story to an enemy he's just met! Or even to a person they've just met! You don't do that! It's just common sense!"

Allen took the opportunity to get up and stretch his own limbs before sitting back down; the car was almost empty at this point, and the few remaining passengers were either sleeping or entirely caught up in their own conversations. "I needed something to do," he said. "Besides, it was fun."

One of these days, Neah would make Allen choke on those words. For now though− "I need a nap. Don't forget to let Tim out."

 **-o0o-**


	4. Chapter 4

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **-o0o-**

As anticipated, Timcanpy was indeed rather upset by the whole ordeal. Thankfully, he opted to target the real culprit as opposed to attacking just about anyone in the general vicinity.

For this, Neah was grateful. For other things, Neah was far less grateful.

"Oh, you poor thing!" exclaimed the intruding matron, tending to Allen's bleeding fingers with a great deal of tenderness. "What vile creature could've done such a thing?"

Allen simply offered up a mild shrug. "It was my own fault, so I don't really-"

The matron, who had by now mostly finished with cleaning the wound, appeared visibly upset. "No, young man. It is not all right. Even if they are cute, rabid animals need to be put down. Otherwise, the next attack might result in something even worse. And this, this could very well be infected and then-"

"-Then I won't be able to play the piano anymore," Allen finished, sounding calm but somewhat melancholic. "But that's no big deal. Now that father's dead, we can't afford to keep it anyway, so..."

Neah actually had to hide his face, because Allen was at it once again, turning his charms on yet another unsuspecting victim, and using his favoured 'pitiable big brother trying to be strong for the sake of the misfortunate family' routine. It had been embarrassing the first time he'd seen it and at this point it was bloody infuriating. It was typically a fairly effective con however, so Neah opted to swallow his pride and cuss Allen out internally instead.

Somehow, farther along the line, they finally arrived at their next pitstop, which was incidentally London. Frankly, Neah had seen enough of the place for a whole lifetime, so he was not entirely pleased at returning there. Besides there was also the Black Order's European Headquarter somewhere in the general vicinity, as if there was not already enough reason to feel uneasy. Because, while the Millennium Earl had long had Japan as his stronghold, Neah knew well that the man – if he could even be called such these days – retained a steady stranglehold on the entirety of Great Britain.

Granted, it was not as though He was all-powerful, all-seeing and all-knowing, because if so, then Neah would have stayed the Hell away from this place. It was not as though they would actually remain very long after all, for multiple reasons.

One: While London was certainly large enough to get lost in, it was still too small of a city, especially given the definite risk of encountering either His minions or those of the Black Order.

Two: No matter what vaguely nostalgic notions Neah might've had in regards to certain aspects of his past – original – lifetime, that in itself did not change the fact that merely being in the general vicinity of certain areas made his skin crawl. Of course, this hardly only applied this area in particular, but−

"No."

Allen had the gall to look amused, as if he had not just suggested they spend the night in a decrepit church that they had incidentally happened upon after chasing down a stray cat in hopes of rescuing Timcanpy from its maw. "Why not? It's not like we haven't done this before?"

Neah had certainly slept in worse places before, but that was not the point. It being a church wasn't even the issue, not even remotely. Neah's relationship to the entity referred to as 'God' was complicated at best, and not in a good way. Heck, if Neah was not positive there was some higher entity scheming against him, then he would have proudly announced himself as an atheist as opposed to an agnostic. Then again, considering his origin, heretic would also have been one way of putting it.

Granted, the others, Road among them, had made some comments about them being the true believers, the apostles of the true God and whatnot. What they considered themselves was none of his concern, so long as they did not stand in his way. But odds were that they likely would, just like they had thirty-some years ago.

Neah did not need them however; he needed only deal with the mad puppet that had robbed him of his life and destiny. Even if that thing still contained bits and pieces of someone once dear to him, he would not show mercy; the time for such sentimentalities had ended a long time ago.

And besides, the 'Allen' before him had to hold an even larger chunk; a curse and something akin to a soul attached to it. It could potentially yield some benefit in the future, some benefit beyond the current one. That said however− "We're not spending the night here. It was this place they talked about, right? It's got to be."

" _People who enter there disappear,"_ Allen repeated, mimicking the tone used by the men who had been gossiping earlier.

"More like, 'people who enter here end up as the prey of the neighbourhood akuma," he said, annoyingly casual about the whole thing as he turned around with a smile and Timcanpy riding on top of his head. "There really are none within the general vicinity though. Not anymore, at any rate."

Given the size of the area and its location, it was highly unlikely that there was none. No, it was far likelier that Allen's range was limited, or that his ability to pick up on them was hampered, or alternately, that Allen himself was lying through his very teeth. Because he did that, and oftentimes, it seemed as natural as breathing to him. That said however− "I honestly thought you'd be a bit more sentimental about this kind of thing," Neah said, kicking at the pile of ash. "Or have you just grown better at hiding it?"

"Aren't you hot, wandering around looking like that?"

Neah scoffed, but could not help but put up a hand to adjust the large cap. He pulled down the scarf though, not seeing much point in covering his nose and mouth now that the imminent threat had been dealt with. Sure, Neah was fairly certain that the poison gas of akuma would not affect him, but until he knew that for sure, he did not plan on taking any unnecessary risks. After all, even if he was technically able to withstand it, the exposure might trigger something and reveal Neah's presence to them.

The akuma, simpleminded machines as they typically were, would hardly fail to recognise him after all, if not as their true lord, then at least as a member of the clan. Besides, considering the connection, it would not impossible for the 'Duke' to catch at least an impression of their presence, and with Allen's already established connection to Mana, well−

"This place's cold and draughty," Neah said, pulling the scarf back up and hunching his shoulders. "Besides, it reeks of bad energy. How many people do you think that thing killed?"

Well, to be perfectly honest, the idea of dead people did not really bother him, and neither did the thought of sleeping surrounded by their ashes. Neah could have made himself cosy on top of a pile of corpses if there was no better alternative. And in this case there most definitely was.

Allen sighed, the cheerful – fake – expression melting away to reveal something tired and genuine. "All right," he said, heading over. "Where is better?"

 **-o0o-**

"Yeah," Neah said, looking around the room. "This is definitely better."

Granted, it was the apartment of a high-end prostitute, but still, Neah supposed that Allen's charm had its uses. Besides, given what had occurred prior to them finding this place, it was not as though they could go to a regular inn anyway.

You see, shortly after Neah had managed to convince Allen that spending the night in that church would have been a very bad idea, some female police constable had burst in and attempted to bring them in for questioning or something, because apparently, her wheelchair-bound brother-in-law residing next-door had apparently gone missing, and with the wheelchair found next to the entrance and Neah and Allen found inside the building, this had painted a pretty incriminating picture.

Granted, they could have stuck around to explain the situation, buuuuut… The akuma that Allen had dealt with earlier had probably been the woman's brother-in-law, and thankfully, even Allen was smart enough not to stick around to explain such things to someone pointing a gun in their direction.

Sure, running probably made them look really guilty, but Neah didn't really feel like they owed an explanation to anyone. So, he had asked Timcanpy to cover their escape, reasoning that the sight of the golem would probably stop the woman in her tracks, at least for a few seconds.

Allen however did not seem to be having any of it. His Innocence flared up, manifesting into its most recent shape. Neah fought the instinctual urge to lash out or move away as the glowing cowl brushed up against him while Allen pulled him in and sent glowing threads out to latch on to the gun, wrenching it from the woman's grip.

Said gun was now inside the hem of Neah's trousers, because Allen had brought it along as they had taken to the air. Allen probably hadn't even realised it until Neah had pointed it out earlier, when they had made it a fair number of rooftops away from the location, and while he wasn't exactly thrilled about letting Neah handle the thing, he had still handed it over. Because, as Neah had said, extra protection didn't exactly hurt.

"I do feel kind of bad though," Allen finally admitted, dipping down on the bed. "About that constable…"

Really.

"That woman's been living alongside an akuma posing as her brother-in-law for who knows how long," Neah said. "If you hadn't dealt with the thing now, she would probably have been killed by it soon, and now, by not bothering to explain things, you've spared her from the knowledge that this 'brother-in-law' was actually a killing machine wearing her brother-in-law's skin and responsible for multiple deaths, including that of her brother-in-law. What the Hell is there to feel bad about?"

Allen looked at him and then flopped back onto the bed. "I already knew that," he finally delivered and rather flatly at that. "I meant I felt kind of bad about stealing her service weapon. She's bound to get into trouble for losing that kind of thing, right?"

Neah exasperatedly threw his hands up in the air.

 **-o0o-**


	5. Chapter 5

**¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0o-**

As things turned out, Neah would find reasons to throw his hands exasperatedly into the air a fair number of times over the next couple of days.

And as usual, it was mostly albeit not entirely Allen's fault.

" _I'm sorry… I'm so-so−"_

Neah wanted to deck the brat, really, but he refrained. Because reluctant as he might be to admit it, he could definitely use some help; Allen had managed to make quite a mess out of himself, and Neah would definitely have to have a serious talk with him about getting himself injured and infected by the akuma virus because of recklessness. After all, while the brat seemed to be from a well-off family, his life surely wasn't worth as much as either of theirs.

"Get up."

The brat just looked at him, his eyes wide and his face covered in tear streaks and snot.

Disgusted, Neah clicked his tongue and turned his head towards the hovering Timcanpy instead. "Timcanpy."

The brat's reddened eyes went even wider as the golem grew bigger. "W-what?"

"Magic," Neah answered simply. "Now help me out here."

 **-o0o-**

The context of the situation was as follows:

They had spent the night at the prostitute's – Agnes' – place but left in the morning, because they had other stuff to do. Returning over there was not really in their agenda, despite the allusion to an open invitation. Because really, the woman had to make a living, and doing so by her usual means would not be feasible with them hanging around.

Neah still considered her a decent find however. And, as much as Neah might disapprove of Cross' ideas and actions, the man probably had the right idea about these women. If one was looking to build a secret spy network and keep it secret, befriending these women was probably the way to go. Because their clientele and people in general was too preoccupied with other thoughts to consider what these women really thought and knew, and in some cases, these women knew a lot more about what was going on than most, and many had the smarts to shut up about it, unlike certain others.

"Fucking childish…"

"Like you're the one to talk!" snapped the child in question, pointing at him with a wrench. "You're even younger than me!"

Neah's eyebrow twitched, because really, really? "Again, I'm older than I look. And if you try to patronise me one more time, I'm not responsible for what happens next. Got it?"

Perhaps it would have been better to inform the brat outright just how close Neah was to stabbing him? Never mind the fact that Neah didn't have a knife at hand. There was a screwdriver within reach and you could do a whole lot of stabbing with that, and without Allen here, it all came down to Neah's self-restraint, really.

And really, that Allen, how dare that nosy brat get involved in spite of Neah's veto against it. Because really, when idiotic little brats ran around shouting about akuma, the right choice was obviously to steer clear of them, not to engage them.

Getting involved had brought nothing but trouble, and the extremely risky kind at that.

" _That damned idiot…"_

 **-o0o-**

"Coming to think of it, we never did do a proper introduction, did we?" said the brat, oblivious to or blatantly ignoring Neah's not very subtle signals to get out. "I'm Jan Russel, twelve-year-old genius inventor."

"Genius inventor? Not bad," said Allen, his face full of smiles. "I'm Allen. The one scowling is Noah, my younger twin."

Oh, he went there, did he?

The brat gaped. " _Twin?!_ But he's so…"

"He didn't eat his veggies," Allen said, wagging his finger. "He paid the price."

Neah restrained an ever-intensifying urge to commit murder. If he got too caught up in his emotions, then he might just end up revealing his presence after all.

 **-o0o-**

It would suffice to say that Neah was not happy with the situation at hand. Still, that was not to say that it was without its perks.

First, there was Allen, confined to bedrest; his injuries were hardly life-threatening, but still serious enough to warrant some recuperation, especially given the fairly extensive blood loss. This whole experience might even serve as a good lesson for all of them; for Jan to pay attention and not call unneeded attention to himself, for Allen to not pick fights with powerful madmen, and for Neah to keep Allen on a tighter leash.

Because after the previous night's events, there was a very, very good reason to do so.

 **-o0o-**

For some context: Jan the reckless brat had found out about akuma from… some notes that his clearly negligent Order-hired scientist of a father had apparently left lying around, and so Jan the reckless brat had decided it would be a swell idea to go out hunting for akuma with his buddy – Leo? Leon? Something like that. – somehow failing to pay a lot of attention to the fact that his little buddy's mother had just dropped dead and that the buddy had struck a deal with the Duke, been killed by an akuma and was now merely a shell worn by the aforementioned akuma.

And, as Allen had just outed the other boy as an akuma, the Millennium Earl himself had decided to pop in for an impromptu visit.

There was really one way to summarise the situation at hand, and Neah had done so on the night in question as he watched the spectacle unfold from behind a mausoleum.

" _Fan-fucking-tastic."_

That said though, it could've been a great opportunity, had they been adequately prepared for it.

If Neah and Allen had just coordinated properly and used the element of surprise, then they could possibly have put an end to this farce once and for all without having to go through the rest of the Noah family first.

However, Neah had unfortunately been forced to sit this one out for fear of early detection. Besides, with all three of them present at the scene, Neah would much rather not have seen the Duke go into a frenzy, because that would no doubt have ended very badly for everyone involved.

The Millennium Earl was incomplete, and if overcome by instinct, then he would have likely sought to devour them in order to attain his missing pieces.

And frankly, dying a second time around, especially in such a lame manner without really accomplishing anything, would have really, really sucked. Hence, Neah had kept his head down low while keeping an eye on things, quietly grateful that Allen himself was largely oblivious to his own frightening potential.

 **-o0o-**


End file.
